Ameerah al-Taweel is a privileged princess from Saudi Arabia; but she is also on the frontlines of fighting for women’s rights in her country, which is among the most oppressive for women anywhere in the world.(Source: persianrealm.com)

Christiane Amanpour interviews Saudi Princess Ammerah al-Taweel:

Saudi princess Amira about women rights in Saudi Arabia and anti-Islam film

Princess Ameera bint Aidan bin Nayef Al-Taweel Al-Osaimi Al-Otaibi (born 1983,often called Princess Amira al-Taweel, in the English-language press, is a Saudi Arabian princess and philanthropist. Princess Ameera assumed the role of Vice Chairperson of Al-Waleed bin Talal Foundation and member of the broad of trustees at Silatech. As Vice-Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees and Head of the Executive Committee of the Alwaleed bin Talal Foundation in Saudi Arabia and the Alwaleed bin Talal Foundation – Global, HH Princess Ameerah supports a wide range of humanitarian interests in both Saudi Arabia and around the world. The Foundation is an international, non-profit organization dedicated to supporting programs and projects aimed at poverty alleviation, disaster relief, interfaith dialogue and, perhaps most importantly at this time in our history, women’s empowerment.

We speak with an outspoken Saudi princess turned blogger about the Arab uprisings and reform in the Kingdom. (Video Courtesy : Al Jazeera, Jan 23, 2012)

Bio:

Basma bint Saud was born on 1 March 1964. She is the 115th and youngest of King Saud’s children. Her mother was a Syrian-born woman, Jamila Merhi, who was chosen for her future husband when she visited Mecca on the haj (pilgrimage). Basma was born during the last days of her father’s reign. Her mother took her to the Middle East’s then-most cosmopolitan city, the Lebanese capital of Beirut. When Lebanon’s civil war broke out in 1975, the family fled for Britain.In Beirut, Basma bint Saud attended a French Christian missionary school, taught by nuns. In Britain, she attended a Hertfordshire girls’ school and a College in London, before spending two years studying in Switzerland. In 2003, Basma and her mother moved to Syria. In the same year, Basma studied medicine, psychology and English literature at Beirut Arab University.Princess Basma was married to Shujaa Al Sharif in 1988. They divorced in 2007. She is a single mother with five children, three of whom live with her in Acton. Her children, three daughters and two sons, are Saud, Sara, Samahir, Sohood and Ahmad. Basma bint Saud is a mild advocate of reform. She has been an active participant of different social institutions and human rights organizations. She began to express her views on Arab and international media, writing articles on the hard life conditions of Saudis, particularly of women.However, her criticisms do not directly address the royal family but the Saudi governors and other middle-level administrators. (More Here)

Ameerah al-Taweel is a privileged princess from Saudi Arabia; but she is also on the frontlines of fighting for women’s rights in her country, which is among the most oppressive for women anywhere in the world.

Her husband, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, is one of the richest men in the world and is the nephew of Saudi King Abdullah.

In that Kingdom, a woman can’t travel alone, can’t drive a car and can’t even take a job without the approval of her male guardian.

But the Princess Ameerah is speaking out in ways clerics and conservatives in Saudi Arabia don’t really want to hear.

Ameerah says she’s often asked why women can’t drive in Saudi Arabia, which she believes should be reformed.

“I think it’s a very easy decision. And it is for the government. A lot of people are saying this is a social issue…. Education was a social issue. And a lot of people in Saudi Arabia were against women getting educated. Yet the decision was made.”

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